Bizarre and Beautiful: a real alternative party

Die Freche Muse is a London-based alternative events company who organise themed vintage parties every six weeks or so. Starting off from humble beginnings in Dalston, over the past three years they have grown in fame and popularity but remain true to their routes and have not sold out to the commercial sphere which is what makes their nights truly unique.

Bille Rae at The Imputent Muse Jan 2012

Entering the party is like entering a hidden, underground world. The people are beautifully dressed in exquisite vintage clothing. The atmosphere is relaxed with people dancing and chatting. Faces are familiar with the same crowd attending most of the parties with numerous people having been attending since the very beginning. The guests chat freely as if they were at a house party and it’s a great opportunity to socialise with interesting people. The party goers consist of art school graduates – notably Saint Martins, vintage lovers, drag queens and designers. At times it can feel a little pretentious but this always happens when you have an intimate gathering of people from the art world.

Every event consists of live music and burlesque; this being the key to their success. Only the performers at the top of their industry are invited to perform and previous parties have included Miss Banbury Cross, Billie Rae and Marianne Cheesecake. There is no stage, which adds to the feeling of intimacy and creates the illusion that you are part of the performance, the whole party being a stage and that you have not come to watch but rather to take part. Beware though, often the burlesque performers have little or no announcement and I have in fact been caught out by this, slipping away for a smoke only to discover I had missed the Japanese Bondage act. This issue can easily be avoided though by asking the host Baron Von Sanderson, (an alias of course) when the acts are due to start. Although the live music goes on throughout the night, sometimes you can be kept waiting for the burlesque acts, with the first burlesque performer coming on as late as 2.30am.

The nights are a mix of the creative and bizarre and provide good value for money with advance tickets priced at £15. However depending on the venue drinks can be expensive, with a cocktail costing on average £9. I still would highly recommend attending one of the parties as it is truly one of the best alternative nights that London has to offer.

1 Comment on Bizarre and Beautiful: a real alternative party

The venue was a shabby white box, sadly decorated with a few cheap plastic skulls and bats, no effort had been put into creating anything like what had been suggested on your website.
The bar was staffed by bored and inefficient staff, expensive un-inspiring drinks, bored DJ looking like he was checking his emails, and we had to pay for our coats to be hung up!

The show was uninspiring, the sound terrible and lighting an after thought. We thought we’d come to the wrong place. The only people who made an effort were the other party goers who had at least dressed up.